Celebrating my 25th birthday couldn't have been more epic! Mountain biking, Kingfisher tower, and Ancient Art, all in one short weekend! I owe a big thanks to Darren from the club and Michael for making it all happen.
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Back towards the end of October I got to go with Michael and Jim to Utah to learn how to aid climb from Utah Climbing Club members. We drove out to Hanksville, Utah to climb at a place the club called "TowerLand". I think the place may also be better known as "Viewfinder Towers" or something like that. We left Thursday night from California and drove all night to get to Utah the next morning at 7am.
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I seriously had been waiting for this club event all year long. I'm not sure why it stood out to me so much, but I was so stoked to go canyoneering and see what it was all about. I think it appealed to me so much because I had no idea what it was really... if that makes sense. The allure of the unknown. Also, I've heard good things.
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I recently had a conversation with my dad (post-epic bike crash and stitches in my forehead... more to come on that one later) in which he asked me when people like me (climbers, thrill seekers.. etc.) stop doing what they do... what age are typical climbers? I answered, "well shoot dad, I know climbers from age 8 to age 60"... "ya, ya, but when do most climbers stop climbing?".... I think I answered, "well unless they've fallen out of love with climbing, then never... unless their wives make them."
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Back towards the end of June I got to go up to Mammoth Lakes to do some camping and climbing. Mammoth is hands down one of my most favorite areas to go visit in California... not just exclusively because of Mammoth, but the areas close to Mammoth as well (June Lake, Clark Canyon, Owens River Gorge, Bishop, Lone Pine... etc.) are all so close to it. I just love this area. Its gorgeous, and I want to live here. I'm pretty much down to go here any time I can. Winter or summer... its a fantastic playground. So when Marc invited me to join a group going up there in June, I didn't hesitate to jump on board.We stayed at a sweet campsite area in Mammoth Lakes called Shady Rest Campground which I had never been to before. It's not exactly roughing it, but it was a cool car camping site that is really accessible to all parts of the Mammoth area.I drove up Friday evening, and joined the crew at their campsite.
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Oh man. Where to begin. Last weekend was the weekend the climbing club was going to climb Mt. Rainier in hopes of achieving its summit. Let me list a few facts about the mountain.
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There's this beautiful little mountain near Bakersfield called Mt. Pinos. It is only about an hour away, and I had never heard of it until just this past month from Marc and Michael. The mountain is the tallest in the Ventura County at 8,831 ft high, and supposedly a great area to see condors although I have yet to see one. It is a sanctuary from the oppressive heat of Bakersfield with weather in the mid 70's to 80's during the summer.
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I must seem like a crazy person. Who in their right mind would drive 15 hours on a Friday to spend 14 long hard hours on a winter ascent of a mountain on Saturday and then drive back 15 hours Sunday? Welp, three of us thought it was a good idea I guess... and despite the mountain kicking our butts, I'd say it was (mostly) worth it.
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It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Such is Mount Whitney. This mountain challenged me so much, that it has taken a little over a week now for me to spend energy writing about it. I literally took all of last week off to be lazy and even went to Vegas this past weekend for a complete change of pace.
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My plans for this past weekend went from hiking my butt off to climbing here at Sespe Gorge with my friend Jake and his family! I probably needed to hike to train for this next weekend, but I really have a hard time saying no to a climbing day, even if its only for a few hours.
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Last weekend I did something pretty out of my league, and it was awesome! Except that I can admit that it took me full circle to come back to that conclusion. I will explain later. I joined a club this year called Utah Climbing Club per my coworker's suggestion to help me achieve some awesome things and see some new amazing places. This was my first event I've been able to attend, Everest Ridge in Utah on Mt. Timpanogos.
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At least once a year my friend Peter from college comes to visit me in California, and so far we have made a tradition of going to a Lakers game since Peter is a big fan, and I am learning to be one. So this was the weekend I met him up in LA on Friday, and we went to watch the Lakers play the Boston Celtics.
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